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By Pamela Fayerman

Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is consistently ranked as America’s best. As a brand, it doesn’t get any better. It has a global arm (Johns Hopkins International) so it can share its intellectual talent pool.

Johns Hopkins and Westbank First Nation discuss luxury medical tourist facility: is it viable?Back to video

Those are just two of the reasons why the Westbank First Nation(WFN) wants it on board for Canada’s first, $125 million luxury hospital aimed at foreign medical tourists and Canadians seeking expedited care. (In B.C. alone, there are at least 75,000 patients waiting right now for non-emergency surgery).

“We have had some very early, preliminary discussions with representatives of (the Westbank) First Nation regarding their desire to establish a hospital,” Gary Stephenson, director of public affairs for Johns Hopkins Hospital told me this week.

WFN Chief Robert Louie said he’s hoping that Johns Hopkins, or another reputable entity, manages and helps staff the hospital because that would lend instant credibility and top-notch medical talent.

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Louie said the band will contribute 15 acres of land for the 100-bed hospital. That would constitute a 50 per cent share in a partnership; the other half would come from investors paying for the construction of the 200,000 square foot “five-star” hospital where rooms would feature high-def t.v., internet access, stereo music systems, and elegant furnishings.

Presumably, revenue from patients would cover daily operating costs. From their rooms, patients would have spectacular views since the building would overlook Lake Okanagan and the City of Kelowna. The ambitious plan entails 10 operating rooms, an “international-calibre chef” and full lab and diagnostic capacity. Phase two envisions a spa, gym, hyperbaric chamber, DNA sequencing, stem cell therapies, housing and assisted living for seniors.

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In the second and third phase, the project would also include an assisted living residence for seniors, according to an executive summary of the so-called Lake Okanagan Wellness Clinic limited partnership document. It has been circulated to potential investors.

But anticipated timelines have already been missed. By January 1, 2012, tender, design and (zoning, etc) acceptances were supposed to have been completed. January 31 was the date leases were to have been registered and March 1 was supposed to have been groundbreaking.

Needless to say, this project is already many months behind schedule.

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Johns Hopkins medical campus

It might surprise some if Johns Hopkins does get on board with this project. Stephenson concedes facilities catering to medical tourism are not typically the kind with which Johns Hopkins gets involved. But it’s too soon to reveal any details of talks so far.

“Since we are in the very early process of exploring this opportunity, there is nothing substantive to say at this time and it would be premature to even speculate on our potential future involvement in this development,” he said.

Steve Thompson, CEO of Johns Hopkins International, was unavailable for comment. But Stephenson referred to the mission statement of the organization which is “to establish international programs and businesses that are consistent with, and support, the Johns Hopkins mission of excellence in clinical care, research and teaching.”

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Johns Hopkins has affiliate medical centres around the world, including one in Toronto called Medcam. It provides a range of services, to corporate executives and individuals who are extremely proactive about their health.

According to the document I obtained, the project should be attractive to investors because “around the world, the words ‘health care’ and ‘unsustainable’ are synonymous.” WFN wants to capitalize on government pullback on health care spending. The WFN anticipates that private sector health spending will explode because of population demographics.

I asked the Mayor of West Kelowna – Doug Findlater – what he knows, and what he thinks about the WFN plan to make Kelowna a destination for medical tourists. He said this in an email: “I only have knowledge of the WFN proposal from media reports. Westbank First Nation is a very capable, entrepreneurial First National and is successful in what they do. The proposed facility does not fall within the purview of local government.”

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WFN characterizes itself as pro-business and takes pride in the fact that it has 250 businesses leasing on its reserve lands. Tenants include Zellers, Superstore, WALMART, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, various fast-food outlets and banks. There are lots of medical clinics on reserves across the country. This would be the first big, private hospital.

While Louie believes Canada is an as-yet untapped market for medical tourists who are already going to places like India for faster surgery, there’s no mention in the planning documents about the fact that medical tourists travel to previously unconsidered locales because it’s cheaper than getting surgery in a North American hospital. The labour and infrastructure in developing countries cost less. North American doctors, nurses, other health providers and health support workers don’t come cheap.

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I asked Louie about whether his members (there are about 700 WFN members) are in favour of the proposal and he said it had the endorsement of over 90 per cent of band members. But I looked at the returning officer’s report of a special membership meeting and secret ballot vote which took place last summer and the results are suspect. Of 506 band members who were eligible to vote, only 77 did cast a ballot. Of the 77 who voted, 65 were in favour of WFN entering into a business partnership with a company called Ad Vitam to develop the medical facility. Twelve were opposed.

Ad Vitam Healthcare Ltd. is an Alberta registered company whose directors are Mark McLoughlin and Dr. Lyle Oberg. Oberg is a former Conservative cabinet minister who is now an adviser to the Wildrose Alliance party. Click here to read my previous story about their role in the “five-star private health care” facility.

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Dr. Brian Day, co-owner of Vancouver’s Cambie Surgery Centre, a private hospital with six operating rooms, said he’s had informal discussions with other First Nation leaders about partnerships for potential private health facilities on Lower Mainland reserve lands.

“I think the Lake Okanagan plan is ambitious but I wish them luck. I believe that medical tourism would be more viable if based in, or near, the Lower Mainland,” he told me.

Okanagan Health Surgical Centre

There are dozens of private surgical facilities in B.C., including one in Kelowna, albeit much smaller than the one proposed by WFN. The Okanagan Health Surgical Centre has three operating rooms and provides a range of surgeries.

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About half (2,000, mostly cosmetic/plastic surgery) are done on a private pay basis and the balance are covered by the government-funded insurer, Medical Services Plan.

The Interior Health Authority contracts the private facility to do many cases.

Under the Canada Health Act (CHA), provinces may be penalized if they allow citizens to pay privately for services that are publicly insured. Stephane Shank, a spokesman for Health Canada, said federal legislation will apply to the WFN hospital:

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